The present invention relates to an article of clothing, and in particular to an article of clothing with left and right pocket openings or hand entry slits that lead to false pockets (no pockets). The pocket openings, other than being decorative and for visual effects, gives the garment the appearance of being a conventional jacket. The left and right pocket openings in particular allows the hands to enter behind the front panel of the jacket where they can be handcuffed and attached to a handcuff retaining belt which is itself attached to the jacket by way of a belt-guide loop. The xe2x80x9ccover jacketxe2x80x9d completely conceals and covers the restraining devices on the wearer from the casual observer. The casual observer thinks that the wearer (prisoner) simply has his hands in his pockets.
There are certain jobs and situations that demand and require that certain persons be restrained, such as the criminal and the mentally insane. These persons are restrained for their own protection and for the protection of society as well. There is also a need from time to time for these same restrained persons to be moved from facility to facility; from court to court; and from various other places often times using commercial carriers and other public acommodations.
According to a recent Justice Department report, the number of people held in U.S. prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities exceeded two million at the end of 1999. And many of these very same people had to be transported between correctional institutions and various courts.
A common method of restraining these persons while they are being transported from place to place is to use handcuffs which binds their wrists together for the security and restraint of the prisoner and also for the safety of those nearby. For added security and restraint a belt with a handcuffxe2x80x94retaining loop is often times fastened around the waist of a prisoner. When the cuffs are passed through the loop, the prisoner is effectively prevented from moving his hands, wrists, arms, and elbows more than a few inches in any one direction. Restrained in this manner with the physical restraining devices visible to the public these persons are now ready to be transported. The above described method has been used quite effectively for some time, but there are problems associated with xe2x80x9cpubliclyxe2x80x9d transporting a prisoner by means of visually exposing the hand-cuffs and retaining belt to the public.
The sight of a handcuffed person is frightening to some and may cause onlookers to panic or flee from this person""s presence. A person hand-cuffed and restrained with physical restraining devices visually exposed could cause some people to be prejudiced towards a verdict of guilt before and doing court procedings. Also, the sight of a handcuffed person in transport may cause that person to seem to be inhuman, as well as be treated the same. It creates attention that neither the official escorting the prisoner nor the prisoner himself desires. Often times, because of the unwelcomed attention that visually exposed restraining devices cause, the prisoner asks the escorting official for a covering to hide such devices from public view.
Finally, because the handcuff retaining belt is not attached or anchored to anything but is only wrapped around the wearer""s waist it allows the wearer to manuver his handcuffed hands to various lateral positions. By twisting and sliding the belt around the waist the wearer can move his hands from the front to either his left side or to his right side, and it is very important for the escorting official to know where the prisoner""s hands are at all times. A need, therefore, exists for a product that allows and permits restraint over the prisoner and security for the public at all times, but conceals and hides said restraining devices from the casual observer and also anchors said restraining devices to the wearer by passing the belt through the handcuff belt-guide loops.
In light of the problems associated with the known methods and apparatus for transporting prisoners from place to place using commercial carriers and other public accommodations, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a cover garment having the appearance of a regular jacket with pocket xe2x80x9copeningsxe2x80x9d (but no pockets) that will allow the wearer hands to be positioned in a manner to not interfer with the handcuffs and waist belt/chain. To all out-ward appearance and to the casual observer the wearer simply has his/her hands inserted in his/her pockets.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a garment that allows a prisoner to be securely restrained while being transported from place to place but, when employed in a court house in the presence of a judge or jury can reduce or eliminate any stigma or assumption of guilt associated with the wearing of handcuffs. In short, the garment decreases the assumption of being guilty that is often times associated with being locked down and with being presented in a court room setting shackled in handcuffs and a waist chain.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garment that can be made in practically any size to accommodate wearers of different statures. Whatever the size, however, the garment is compact. When not in use, it may be easily carried, folded away in a piece of luggage or suspended from a hanger in a closet.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a garment of the type described that may be easily donned or doffed with the help of an assistant. Once positioned on a wearer, however, the wearer, (whose wrists are then binded/cuffed and connected to a waist chain) being incapable of moving his arms, cannot remove the garment without the assistant""s aid.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a garment that covers and conceals the restraining devices worn by the prisoner and is comfortable to wear. The garment has no hard parts of its own that can rub against the skin of the wearer. Thus, the likelihood of injury to a wearer caused by the garment is minimal.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cover garment that does not have to be removed in order to adjust or remove the restraining devices to permit a wearer to eat or relieve himself. It is believed, then, that airlines and other public providers of services will be less likely to shun wearers of the garment from their facilitites. In order to remove or adjust the restraining devices the front panel of the jacket simply need to be lifted and adjustments to or removal of the restraining devices can be performed. This can be done whether the wearer is standing or sitting.
It is an object of the invention to provide new and improved elements and arrangements thereof in a garment being a cover jacket for the purposes described which is light weight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a means for anchoring the handcuff retaining belt to the jacket thus anchoring the belt to the wearer disallowing the wearer to twist and slide the belt around his waist for repositioning of the hands once the restraining devices (cuffs) have been applied.
Briefly, the cover jacket in accordance with the invention achieves the intended objects by featuring a front panel and a rear panel with side-by-side parts. A zipper releasably fastens the side-by-side parts together. A pair of sleeves extend from the front and rear panels. On the front left panel and front right panel there is a pocket opening that leads to a false pocket so that when the prisoner""s hands are inserted into the pocket openings they are brought together where they can then be cuffed. The left and right side seams are not stitched together (left opened, unfinished) several inches from the bottom creating a flap which allows accessibility to the restraining devices whether the prisoner is sitting or standing.
Also, on the front left panel and front right panel and adjacent to the pocket openings are handcuff belt openings/slits that allow the handcuff retaining belt to exit from underneath the jacket and wrap around the waist of the wearer. Finally, on the rear left panel and rear right panel there is a handcuff belt guide loop that attaches and anchors the handcuff retaining belt around the waist of the wearer.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon farther review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.